Channa Masala (Chickpea Curry)

Legumes are good for you. There are no two ways about it! This recipe for chickpea curry is healthy, delicious and economic! Legumes in general, chickpeas in particular, store extremely well for long periods of time, extremely high in protein, are relatively cheep, and if done right, absolutely delicious!

When I was growing up, we would have Channa Masala, or Chickpea Curry fairly regularly. I have to say, I wasn't a big fan. The flavor profile was good, but we would use canned chickpeas. They always tasted salted and mushy. I suppose because they were soaking in canned salted water for god knows how many weeks.

Canned Chickpeas are convenient, because you don't have to soak them, but you are really paying for that convenience. Dried chickpeas are one of the cheapest foods you can buy, and you can buy in bulk. As they store indefinitely, you just need a jar to store them in and you are golden. Personally, I just keep mine in a big ziplock bag.



For dried chickpeas, soak them in water for an hour or so. They will balloon up in size. Check this out:

The top chickpea is dried out, the bottom one has been soaking in water for an hour. Cool uh?

After you drain the water, you can keep soaked chickpeas in a fridge for a day or so.





This recipe calls for boiling the soaked chickpeas in tea for half and hour. You then reserve some of the tea (it has all the lovely flavor and nutrients of the chickpea) and add that back into the dish. I highly recommend you don't use loose tea leaves, just tea bags. It would be a pain to strain out all the individual tea leaves.


Ingredients
1 cup chickpeas
1 tea bag
6 cups water
2 tablespoons, vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced (yellow onions preferred, white onions in a pinch)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 green chilies, sliced (if you like it spicy, add more!)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
.5 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
Shredded Ginger (for garnish)



Wash and soak the chickpeas for 1 hour. Drain and discard the liquid. Add chickpeas, tea bag and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30-45 minutes until the chickpeas are tender. Scoop out 1 cup of the tea cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the chickpeas.













Add oil to wok and heat for a few seconds. Add the onion and stir fry until golden. Add ginger and chilies, and continue to stir fry. When their aroma is released, add the garlic last and stir fry for a few seconds.
















Add the tomatoes, coriander, cumin, turmeric and red pepper and stirfry for 5-10 minutes.
















Add the chickpeas, reserved cooking liquid and salt. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Add a pinch of Garam Masala or to taste.

Garnish with Garam Masala, coriander leaves and ginger shreds.

Best with Naan or Paratha!

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